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Woman livid after bike removed from TTC pole by security guard

Lisa Ferguson was shocked to discover the bike she locked to a TTC pole near Yonge and Bloor was missing — and angry when she learned a security guard had removed it.

Lisa Ferguson says her bike disappeared from a pole outside Hudson's Bay centre while she was in a meeting. She assumed it was stolen, but later learned a security guard had removed it.
(David Cooper / Toronto Star)

Lisa Ferguson was coming out of a meeting near Yonge and Bloor when she noticed her silver hybrid bike was missing from the TTC pole she had locked it to.

Devastated at the thought that it had been stolen, she was about to go home and “have a good cry.”

She was stunned when a security guard at nearby Hudson’s Bay Centre told her he had cut down the bike himself, along with a few others.

“He said that he was ordered to do so by the property manager Brookfield, because it’s private property,” she said.

When contacted by the Star on Thursday morning, Brookfield Property Group spokesman Matt Cherry said the company had been told that “in general it’s prohibited to affix anything to TTC property” but they were “looking into the legality of it.”

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Milly Bernal, a spokeswoman with the TTC, said it has “given no direction to remove the bikes.”

Ferguson said one of the security guards in the Hudson’s Bay Centre told her they get several angry cyclists a day complaining about bikes being taken.

“The lock that I have is known to be pretty impenetrable and they cut through it like it was butter,” she said. “How many bikes have been cut off this pole?”

“According to the official record of highways, the TTC sign and the posts and the bicycles are sitting on the public right of way, the city's right of way, which means it’s the public sidewalk,” said Wong-Tam.

After news of the bike-napping caused a social media storm, Cherry emailed a statement saying the company had the right to remove bikes because they are a trip hazard but apologized to anyone who believed their bike was stolen.

“As adjacent property owner, we have the right to remove a bike or otherwise affixed object to property and the TTC pole on the sidewalk outside of our building if it poses a perceived risk to pedestrians,” he said.

Cherry said they keep the bikes inside until their owners claim them. He would not respond to questions about how many had been removed or what action would be taken to return bikes to people who thought they had been stolen.

Wong-Tam said it’s the first she’s heard of a trip hazard and that if Brookfield owes people bicycles “they should sort that out quickly.”

Asked if the existence of a tripping hazard would allow a private company to remove bikes from public property, Wong-Tam said: “No, to the best of my knowledge.”

Hilary Holden said she contacted the security staff at the Hudson’s Bay Centre after she heard about Ferguson’s ordeal. Her bike was stolen from the same area over the weekend.

“They said they would check whether my bike was in storage,” she said.

Holden said she was told the bikes are donated if they aren’t claimed within 90 days.

The security staff at Hudson’s Bay Centre would not comment on the matter to the Star, and referred questions to Cherry.

The staff didn’t have Holden’s bike but she’s still frustrated with the situation.

“People might think their bike’s been stolen and oh well, shrug of the shoulders, these things happen, but you wouldn’t think of going in.”

Wong-Tam said the long-term solution is better biking infrastructure in the city and more clarity on where people are allowed to park bikes.

Ferguson, who calls her bike “her baby” and her main way to get around the city, said she locked her bike to the pole because she couldn’t find an available bike rack in the area.

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